Watch-movement.



Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. B. MEHL.

WATCH MOVEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1-1, 1910,

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER B. 'MEHL, OF ITEVJ'ION, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 THE KEYSTCNE\NATGH CASE COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, IPENNSYLVANIA, A CQRPORATION OFPENN- SYLVANIA.

WATCH-MOVEMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, lVALTna B. Mann, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Newton, in the county oi Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inWatch- Movements, of which the following is a speci iication.

This invention relates more particularly to those parts of a stemwinding and setting watch movement which comprise the crown and windingwheels and that portion of the ton plate or barrel, bridge on which saidwheels are mounted, being intended to simplii'y and otherwise improveupon prior constructions of these parts. Hereto-tore it has been theusual practice to make the crown wheel and the winding wheel integralwith each other and to place the same in position from the upper orouter side of the barrel bridge, and this has required the barrel bridgeto be made of such thickness and provided with recesses of such a naturethat much time and expense and a large amount of machine work have beenrequisite in order to construct these parts and secure the necessaryaccuracy of lit of the same.

According to my invention, the crown wheel and the winding wheel areconstructcd from separate pieces of metal and are secured together afterthey have been placed in position on the barrel bridge, said wheel-sbeing applied respectively to the under and upner sides oi the bridgeand being so constructed that when. secured together they are accuratelycenteren with respect to each other. By virtue oi this arrangement I ama the to simplify the construction of the bar rel bridge and tomaterially reduce the cost of the same and of said wheels, and also tosecure other advantages which will, hereinafter appear.

in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a portion of a watchcontaining my improvements, as preferably construct ed, this figurebeing a central longitudinal section through the movement from front toback; Fig. 2 shows the winding wheel and adjacent parts, as viewed from'the outer side of the barrel bridge; and Fig. 3 is a sectional viewshowing the parts which constitute the combined crown and windingwheels.

Of the parts shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the dial plate 2, thebarrel arbor 3, the minute wheel 1, the ratchet wheel 5, the windingstem 6, the clutch 7 and the winding pinion 8, together with the parts wiich constitute the case, may be constructed and arranged in any mannerwhich is suitable for watch movements 01 the type illustrated.

The numerals 9 and 10 indicate respectively the crown wheel and thewinding wheel, one oi these parts, preferably the crown wheel, beingprovided with a central stud 11 which passes through a perforationformed in the other part, in this instance the winding wheel 10, wherebysaid wheels are accurately centered with respect to each other whentitted together. One of these wheels, preferably the crown wheel 9, isalso provided with a hub 12 which is accurately turned on the samecenter as the stud 11 and fits in a circular bearing provided by forminga perforation 13 in the barrel bridge 14:, the hub 12 being of suchthickness as to prevent undue tr'ction between the laterally-extendingunder and upper faces of the winding wheel and crown wheel and theadjacent surfaces of the barrel bridge. Said. winding wheel and crownwheel. are secured together, after being placed in position, by means ofscrews 15, as shown in Fig. 1, the winding wheel 10 being meshed withthe ratchet wheel 5 and the crown wheel 9 being meshed with the windingpinion 8 in the usual manner.

It will be observed that in the construction above described the barrelbridge needs to have but little thickness in order to provide etlicientsupport and a suitable bearing for the combined crown and windingwheels, so that said barrel bridge may have substantially the form of arelatively thin, flat plate, as shown, so far as the crown and windingwheels are concerned. Heretofore, it has been customary, in order toprovide for the reception and support of the crown wheel and windingwheel when formed in one piece, to make the barrel bridge ofconsiderably greater thickness and to utilize the inner portion thereofas a bearing for the inner end of the winding stem, but with myconstruction the bearing for the inner end of the winding stem may beindependent of the barrel bridge, with advantageous results. Thus in theconstruction illustrated, the hearing for the inner end of the windingstem (3 is termed in the inner end portion l. in a watch movement of thecharacter It) ot a \OliG-PlPCC 17 which is secured to the 1 described,the combination with the barrel dial plate 2, said end portion 10 beingalso provided with a circular stud 18 on which i the setting wheel 19 ismounted in position to mesh with the minute wheel i. As thusconstructed, the parts which support and provide the requisite bearingsfor the winding stem are entirely independent of the barrel bridge andconnected parts, so that it is possible not only to construct the barrelbridge from a thin plate, as above described, but also to remove saidbarrel bridge and the parts carried thereby without in any waydisturbing the winding stem and connected parts, or permitting the sameto be displaced or thrown out of adjustment. This is of great advantagein assembling the various parts of the watch movement, since it enablesthe setting mechanism to be adjusted and tested while the barrel bridgeand connected parts are wholly removed, thus leaving the remaining partsof the movement exposed to view.

The arrangement above described for supporting the winding stem andsetting wheel and providing the requisite bearings for the same formsthe subject matter of another application for Letters Patent tiled by metn the same date herewith, and is not specifically or separately claimedherein, as it will be evident that various other means may be employedfor the same purpose without atl'ecting the ad 'antages gained by virtueof my improvements in the crown wheel and winding wheel.

I claim as my invention:

bridge of separately-tormed crown and winding wheels locatedrespectively on the under and upper sides of said bridge, one of saidwheels being provided with an integral, hub journaled in the barrelbridge and with an integral stud projecting from said hub, concentrictherewith, and entering a central opening in the other wheel, andattaching means passing through the latter wheel and into said hub.

2. in a watch movement of the character described, the combination withthe dial plate ot a winding stem having a winding pinion and a slidingclutch mounted thereon, a supporting bearing carried by the dial platefor the inner end of the winding stem, a barrel bridge having the formof a relatively thin tiat plat-e, ova-lying and independent of thebearing for the inner end of the winding stem, a crown wheel located onthe under side of the barrel bridge opposite said clutch and meshingwith the winding pinion, and a winding wheel located on the

